Doctor Dositheus

The big curved trapezoidal thing holds the book in place better if that's what you're referring to. They use them on an as needed basis, if they feel it needs to be more secure.

I'll second the vote for Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982-3), and give honorable mention to Hawkeye (1983).

I knew if I waited I could find what I wanted, but I was a mixture of impatient and curious. Looking at slabs as well as raw just widens the field. I had never owned one, and I knew it was only a matter of time until I wanted a big enough key that a slabbed copy would be likely. I don't feel forced, and that first slab purchase, I actually considered cracking it out, but once I got it in hand I kind of liked it in the slab. The two main ways I see slabs playing a role in my collection is 1) for comics I intend to or may sell, and 2) for protection for high value keys. For instance, I have a near complete FF run except for some lower issues. When it's complete I anticipate 1-12 maybe being in slabs, but I may slab further out. 48 & 49 will probably remain in slabs. But most will remain raw. I don't anticipate slabbing past 52 in any case.

I did not buy my first slab until this year. I loved to gawk at them on the walls at the cons, but I never envisioned buying a book expensive enough to be on the wall, and the slabs not on the wall were what most here would call not slabworthy. But then it got to a point where I just wasn't seeing the books I was looking for raw. I was looking for an FF 72 for my FF run and did not like the raw copies I was seeing. Being impatient and wanting it now, I bought my first slab. Of course once I bought one, more were to come. My desire for slabs now rises and wanes. Except for keys I lean more toward raw copies now. I'm definitely going to be sending some of my original owner stuff in soon to get slabbed. I expect to get a clearer idea of what I'm going to keep and how much of that will be slabbed as I start to get those back. Generally speaking, if I can get a book I'm looking for raw in the 5.0 - 8.0 range for under a hundred bucks, I'll take that over a slab. But there are definitely a set of books that I would like to have in slabs for my "personal wall".

I would vote for updating the label as described (but if you ask me the FF weren't superheroes until FF3 ).

2.5

Maybe instead of calling trimmed books restored we can shut down the non-additive argument and just call them mutilated.

Some already do, but as usual it seems completely random which copies get notated and which ones don't.

I have a full run of Warlord bagged and boarded when they came out #1 to up past 50, with the first issue special too. 1980s me thought they would be worth thousands by now, and that people of the future will definitely pay extra for full runs! I still am working on my Marvel Two-in-One run to this day.

You can use that hair to clone your own CGC grader who will grade comics all day for you.

Their primary competitor is GPAnalysis. Both sites have their own strengths and weaknesses. GoCollect I find really slows down late at night, which can suck for an ebay night owl.

I was just thinking about this very issue a month or two ago when I was looking at JLA 21-22. In my opinion the first JLA-JSA crossover in 1963 is his first SA appearance. Don't sleep on Bouncing Boy he will wreck you. Definitely don't try to wrap your head around "pre-Silver Age" Martian Manhunter stories which came before Showcase #4.

The grading robots might be proprietary tech.

I wonder what Sigmund Freud would say about this cover.

I had never thought about it that way before, but that is interesting. It was definitely a movie trope of it's time, and a part of popular storytelling. Lots of good food for thought in this thread. "Injury to the eye" seems like sort of the same argument. I'm not offended, on the other hand it seems superfluous, like putting "Superman flies throught the air cover" on the label.

Referring to it printed on the CGC label. I mean if that's your thing, you can see what it is. I'm no prude and I don't care really (just bored ) It just seems kind of out of place when I see it. "Look, grandma, it's a bondage cover!"

BIG AUCTIONS THIS WEEK! WALLETS WILL TAKE BEATINGS! Now we'll really get to see if the long sought buyer's market will start to emerge. If you've been watching closely there has been downward price pressure on the higher grade keys, books that sell for five figures plus, but that just hasn't affected the books in the $500 - $5000 range much yet. I think we might start to see some signs of the buyer's market coming this week. It just feels like the number of sellers is on the rise, and the abundant cash is either kind of on pause or being used for more important things right now.

Maybe you could just pay for like 10 pressings up front on the first submission and save time.

If you think about it, FF 49 is kind of the most important out of 48, 49, and 50. All the important stuff happens in 49, but we value 48 because of the 1st Silver Surfer sppearance. Obviously the Galactus cameo at the end isn't why it sells for the highest.

Thank you. How could I forget Doll Man? To be technically correct (which is the best kind of correct), Shrinking Violet also preceded SA Atom by a few months. As to silver age DC speculation, when's Metamorpho getting his own movie? (let the Shazam people handle it!)

Generally no. 1st appearance is usually 1st in our real world time, not a story they made later that took place before.

Maybe there should be an option where instead of encapsulation CGC just writes the grade on the front cover in marker, signed by a witness, also in marker. Perhaps Rob Liefeld is the witness.

Gardner Fox

4.5

I'm not aware of CGC penalizing a book for not having been pressed................. ........yet